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The Lives of St. John

St. John, Wash., a town surrounded by the farmlands of the Palouse, is a thriving town with a population of 537, as of the summer of 2010. Residents use business, technology and events to buck the trend of the dying small town. These photos were shot for a Pacific Northwest Inlander assignment.

The town of St. John, Wash. is photographed from the Whitgro, Inc. grain elevator, on Wednesday, July 7, 2010. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Mayor Kenneth Bill "KB" Trunkey poses for a photograph at city hall in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Retired farmer 74 year old Richard Willson disks land he owns in in St. John, Wash., on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. Willson's sons operate the 7-8 farms he owns. He chooses to participate in farming when he chooses. Willson's family has been farming in the area since the 1800s. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Owner Marilyn Webb, right, and her 18 year old granddaughter Kelly Van-Lith, center, help customer Monica Jones at St. John Empire Foods in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. The Webb family has been in the St. John area since 1905. The store has been in business since 1968 and remains as the only grocery store in town. Kelly is an incoming freshman at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. She is working for the first time at the store during the summer. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

St. John Telephone Company Outside Tech Joe Dennis and summer employee 19 year old Zach Templin remove old telephone pedestals and wires just outside St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Dennis lives in Sunset, just miles from St. John. He has been a resident in the area for 6 years and resident before that for 3 years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Templin, whose father helped him get the summer job, is a sophomore at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

21 year old A la Carte employee Lauren Gordon bags some food in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Gordon lives in Spokane, Wash. most of the year, but visits her father for the summer in St. John. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

A grainery in St. John, Wash. is photographed on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Owner Diane White speaks about her store Welcome Home, in St. John, Wash. on Wednesday, July 7, 2010. White has lived in 25 years after marrying Dave White, a St. John native. The former school employee decided to open the store on November 10, 2009 after being laid off. She had always been into antiques, clothing and home furnishings and decided to make her interests into a business. She also sells flooring, which her husband can install. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

9 year old Glory Dickerson, left, and 10 year old Carmen Gfeller, right, watch 7 year old Roxy Dickerson play an online video game at the Community Current newspaper office in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. In the background is Becky Dickerson, who is publisher and editor of the newspaper. The children often play at the newspaper office. Dickerson started the newspaper 15 years ago and publishes monthly. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Amanda Webb waits for her perm to set as employee Rachel Anderson looks on at Moment Spa & Fitness in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. The spa opened in Feb. 2009. Anderson, an Endicott, Wash. resident has worked at the spa since Jan. 2010. Webb, who grew up in Cheney, married Matt Webb and moved to St. John 11 years ago. Matt Webb grew up in the town. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

15 year old John Quintan plays a round of golf at the St. John Golf and Country Club, in St. John, Wash., on Wednesday, July 7, 2010. Quintan's family has been in St. John one generation previous to him. He plays golf on the St. John-Endicott High School golf team. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

9 year old Conrad "Conr" Hergert organizes a Webkinz display at the St. John Pharmacy in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. He is trying to earn discounts on toys at the pharmacy by doing chourse and errands. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Employee Carrie Gossard shows the waiting room at Moments Spa & Fitness in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. The spa opened in Feb. 2010. Gossard moved to St. John in 1990 from Colome, SD, after her husband got a job as a crop duster in town. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Bob Thompson poses fro a photograph in front of Cold Storage Market Food City, a grocery store which closed in April 2010, in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. Thompson states that the market closed after the overhead became too high. He had been struggling with the business financially for 4 years previously. Though not a native of St. John, he plans on staying in the area. He originally purchased the store in 1987 after he saw a grocery store for sale, while living in the Tri-Cities area. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Volunteers from the St. John Fire Department put out a small field fire, in St. John, Wash., on Wednesday, July 7, 2010. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Owner Peg Curtis gives Dorothy McBride a haircut at St. John Salon in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Curtis has owned the salon for 22 years, recently moving into the current location. She met her ex-husband in Cheney, Wash. and moved back to his hometown with him after getting married. McBride frew up in St. John, left to live in Spokane, Wash. and then returned in 2006 after remarrying a St. John man following the death of her first husband. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Town doctor Tony Lundberg, DO, examines 82 year old Billie Dechenne at Whitman Medical Group in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. Dechenne's family has been in the region since the mid 1800s. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Jim Van Lith fishes on Rock Lake, near St. John, Wash. on Monday, July 5, 2010. Van-Lith has lived in St. John for 22 years, and is an insurance agent in town. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Kelly, left, and Tony Lundgren, DO, speak as their 3 year old son Marcos plays at their house in St. John, Wash. on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Marcos, from Guatemala, is the adopted son of Kelly and Tony Lundberg, DO. Marcos is one of 5 children adopted by the Lundbergs. Tony Lundberg serves as the town's physician. Tony grew up in Las Vegas, went to school at Kirksville College of Ostheopathics in Missouri. He did his residency in Colville, Wash. as part of a University of Washington program and moved to St. John after his residency to become the town physician. He and Kelly met at BYU, where they were married between their Junior and Senior years. The house is known as the Doctor's House, which was built to house the town physician. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Organizer Matt Webb monitors issues riding his 4-wheeler during a United States Sprint Boat Association race at Webb's Slough in St. John, Wash. on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Thousands attended this event. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Team Fat Buddy Racing runs through a qualifying heat during a United States Sprint Boat Association race at Webb's Slough in St. John, Wash. on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Thousands attended this event. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Spectators watch a qualifying run during a United States Sprint Boat Association race at Webb's Slough in St. John, Wash. on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Thousands attended this event. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)

The main street, Hwy. 23, in St. John, Wash. is photographed on Saturday, June 19, 2010. (Young Kwak Special to the Pacific Northwest Inlander)